> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://parabola.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Skills
> Teach Prowork how you and your team work. Write a skill once and Prowork loads it whenever a request fits, so you never repeat yourself.
A skill is a short note that teaches Prowork how you or your team likes to work. Write something down once, and you don't have to explain it again in every conversation. Prowork reads a skill only when it needs to.
Good skills include:
* **How you like your Artifacts styled.** Colors, fonts, chart types
* **Which tables to use for a report.** And which ones to avoid
* **How your team calculates a metric.** Net revenue, on-time delivery rate
* **A checklist to follow before exporting.** To a system like NetSuite or Shopify
* **A list of product release dates.** For use when reporting metrics
Each skill is written in plain text, and you can use Markdown for headings and lists. When you save a skill, Prowork writes a one-sentence summary of when it applies. As you chat, Prowork compares your request to those summaries and loads any skill that fits. You don't have to call a skill by name, or even know it exists.
## Create a skill
Create a skill in the Skills window or just by asking Prowork. New skills are always Personal, which means only you can see them.
### From a Prowork conversation
Ask Prowork to remember something:
* *"Remember that our fiscal year starts in February."*
* *"Always round currency to two decimals."*
* *"Make this a skill."*
* *"Should we create a skill from this conversation?"*
Prowork saves it as a Personal skill and tells you what it named it. If you already have a skill with that name, Prowork replaces its contents.
### From the Skills window
Click **Skills** in the left sidebar of your Flows home, or click the **+** button in the Prowork chat box and choose **Manage skills**.
A new, empty skill opens in the editor.
Names use lowercase words joined by hyphens, like `weekly-rollup-format`. Prowork converts spaces and capital letters for you as you type.
The editor starts you off with two sections:
* **When to use:** the situations where Prowork should use this skill.
* **What to do:** the steps, in the order you'd explain them to a colleague.
Prowork takes a few seconds to write the skill's summary. You'll see **Writing a description…** until it's ready. The skill starts working in your conversations once the summary appears.
## How Prowork uses your skills
Prowork picks the right skills on its own, so you don't have to turn anything on. Each time you send a message, it checks your request against the summaries of every skill you can use. If a skill fits, Prowork loads it.
* While a skill is loading, the chat shows **Reading the \{skill name} skill…**
* After Prowork replies, the **Skills used** section lists every skill it loaded for that reply.
Prowork always puts what you ask for now ahead of what a skill says. If a skill says to use bar charts and you ask for a line chart, you get a line chart.
Changes to a skill apply starting with your next message, once its summary has been rewritten.
### Types of skills
| Type | Who writes it | Who uses it |
| :- | :- | :- |
| **Personal** | You | Only you |
| **Workspace** | Someone in your workspace | Everyone in your workspace |
| **Built in** | Parabola | Everyone, automatically |
If a Personal skill and a Workspace skill share a name, Prowork can load both. But two Personal skills or two Workspace skills cannot share a name.
## Manage and share skills
The Skills window lists every Personal and Workspace skill you can use. Search the list, or pick **Personal skills** or **Workspace skills** from the filter to narrow it. Click a skill to open it.
### Edit or delete
Open a skill, then click **Edit** to change it or the trash icon to delete it. Prowork stops using a deleted skill right away. Deletions cannot be undone.
### Share with your workspace
Open a Personal skill, click **Share**, then confirm with **Share with workspace**. The skill becomes a Workspace skill, and Prowork starts using it in conversations for everyone in your workspace. The skill still lists you under **Created by**.
### Who can do what
Workspace Admins decide who manages Workspace skills under **Workspace settings → Workspace Skills editing**.
| Action | Editors can create and edit Workspace Skills (default) | Only Admins can create and edit Workspace Skills |
| :- | :- | :- |
| Create and edit your own Personal skills | Editors and Admins | Editors and Admins |
| Share a Personal skill with the workspace | Editors and Admins | Admins only |
| Edit or delete a Workspace skill | Editors and Admins | Admins only |
| Have Workspace skills used in your conversations | Everyone | Everyone |
No one can see anyone else's Personal skills, including Admins.
***
## Write good skills
The best way to create a skill is directly from a conversation you've had in a Flow. That way, Prowork has context about your conversation, the Flow, and a use case.
* **Give each skill one job.** Prowork chooses skills by their one-sentence summary. A skill that covers five topics gets a vague summary, and Prowork may never pick it. If Prowork warns you a skill is getting long, split it in two.
* **Say when it applies.** A clear **When to use** section, like "when building a weekly sales report," helps Prowork write a precise summary.
* **Be specific.** Give the actual table names, column names, and formulas. "Use the right data" won't help.
* **Write it like you're briefing a colleague.** Short steps, in the order you'd follow them.
```markdown weekly-rollup-format theme={null}
## When to use
When building or updating the weekly sales rollup for the ops team.
## What to do
1. Pull orders from the "Shopify Orders – Clean" table, not the raw export.
2. Exclude orders tagged `test` or `internal`.
3. Net revenue = gross sales − discounts − refunds. Leave out shipping.
4. Group by week starting Monday, in US Eastern time.
5. Round currency to two decimals.
```
## FAQ
Check that the skill has a summary under its name. Prowork can't use a skill until its summary exists. If the summary is there, rewrite the **When to use** section so it clearly matches how you phrase your requests.
There's no command for it, but you can ask directly: *"Use my weekly-rollup-format skill."*
No. Only you can see them until you share them.
Parabola writes and maintains these skills to improve how Prowork works for everyone. They don't appear in your Skills list, and you can't edit them.